Nokia had always been previously lauded as a company that had successfully adapted and innovated.
Indeed, according to the Nokia website, ‘few companies have Nokia’s storied capacity for transforming, developing new technologies and adapting to shifts in market conditions’. And this was true - this company was a prime example of successful innovation and evolution.
Nokia was established in 1865 as a paper mill and successfully evolved over the years to include cable, mobile devices, paper products, rubber boots and tyres, and telecommunications infrastructure equipment.
But it was during the 1990's that it became a truly global brand and by 1998, Nokia was the world leader in mobile phones, a position it enjoyed for more than a decade.
Nokia continued to dominate and went on to become the largest mobile vendor for straight 14-years. However, fast-forward to 2015, and the whole scenario changed! Nokia no longer has that prestigious crown, as it has been toppled by Apple and Samsung.
Nokia became comfortable and fell into the trap of becoming the World’s largest phone maker. It had loyal fans in Africa and other European countries, and when these fans decided to abandon them it was the beginning of their unstoppable decline.
When the iPhone first launched in 2007, it simply rewrote the rules of mobile communication. It was just so superior to the other operating systems that Windows Mobile, Symbian and Palm OS had to offer.
Unfortunately Nokia was particularly blind to the threat of the iPhone. They saw the iPhone as an expensive gadget that would not last. But what nobody saw, including Steve Jobs, was the influence that apps would have on defining how smart technology and the devices were used and apps suited the OS and Android platforms perfectly, but did not work at all well on the Nokia platforms.
The growth in use for apps further wedded users to the platform and increasingly the Nokia handset looked like a basic toy and the operating system was exposed as too simplistic and unable to compete with OS and Android.
Eventually Nokia responded, but made a series of key mistakes in developing, then choosing an operating system. First they ignored the opportunity of Android whilst Samsung capitalised on it. Nokia wanted to be different and create their own thing. But it was too late to think like this. At a last gasp attempt, they finally settled upon using the Microsoft platform. The decision was made too late which slowed development and their ability to compete.
As the CEO of Nokia, said at the press conference announcing the Microsoft takeover, ‘We did nothing wrong, but somehow we lost.’ This is a fair statement to make. However their abject failure was down to making the wrong choices due to hubris and fear. Being so successful had closed their minds, and they failed to embrace smart technology quickly enough. The decline was steep and dramatic. The paradigm shifted again and Nokia’s implosion sent shockwaves throughout the Finnish economy.
It proves that as soon as any company relies solely on its cash cow it is at risk of becoming obsolete.
Whether or not fear or hubris was the problem at Nokia, mastering or indeed controlling that fear of change is important. Feeling the uncertainty and pain, but going ahead and doing it anyway really is necessary for us to grow. If our fear overpower positive excitement for growth then we may stay in a state of permanent frustration, stifled by our own limited thinking.
It is OK to feel that fear. But don’t let it suppress your passion and excitement. There are plenty of tools you can use to overcome it. Not least proven techniques such as NLP and a plethora of books about positive thinking, positive visualisation and the law of attraction.
‘If think you can or you can’t then you are right’ Henry Ford
‘Be careful what you think. Your life is shaped by its thoughts.’ Proverb, The Bible
The way that we think is the crucial thing. If we think we cannot do something then we will not be able to do it. Our thoughts become a reality as we create a self fulfilling prophecy. We must believe what we are doing will succeed. Without this, our idea will not work. Serendipity will only ensue as a result of our positive belief and actions. Our idea will never thrive without the conviction and belief in our ideas :)